Uribe tried to sabotage Mexico summit: Bolivia

Kirsten Begg, 24 February 2010

Bolivian President Evo Morales ripped into his Colombian counterpart Alvaro Uribe Tuesday, calling the Andean leader "an agent of the empire", who only attended the Rio Group Summit in Mexico in order to sabotage it.

Morales accused Uribe of only attending the two day summit in Cancun "for the photos and the lunch".

The Bolivian leader's accusations follow a shouting match between Uribe and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez during a head of states' lunch on Monday.

Morales told press that Uribe "provoked" Chavez with a "surprise intervention" during the Monday lunch and added that Chavez had "listened patiently" to the Colombian leader's complaints.

"This event [the summit] almost got stuck in the mud and I'm not scared to tell the truth. U.S. agents came to try to hold up and make fail this event," Morales said.

Chavez said Tuesday that Venezuela is ready to begin normalizing relations with Colombia.
Morales is one of several Latin American leaders, including Chavez, who strongly opposed the Colombia - U.S. military agreement signed in November, which allows the U.S. military to use some seven airbases throughout Colombia.

According to Morales the U.S. use of military bases on Colombian soil is actually an invasion of South America, where a rebellion exists in countries such as Venezuela, Ecuador and Bolivia against such presence.

Republished from Colombia Reports

Bolivia Declassifies Dictatorship Files

Prensa Latina - The declassification of military dictatorship files in Bolivia began Tuesday with the Armed Forces releasing the documents.

According to Defense Minister Ruben Saavedra, three days before scheduled, the military institution has allowed Public Ministry's authorities gain access to those documents. Saavedra explained that at 16:00 local time attorney Milton Mendoza and Judge Roger Valverde will declassify the information carefully saved about Luis Garcia Meza' (1980-1981) dictatorship.

He pointed out those details will be put at the disposal of judicial authorities to investigate the disappearance of some people under the Garcia Meza regime.

Saavedra emphasized that Chief of Staff General Ramiro de la Fuente will hand over the files.

According to the Human Rights statistics about 170 people disappeared in Bolivia during the 19600s, 1970s and part of the 1980s.

Among the victims is the founder of Bolivia's Socialist Party Marcelo Quiroga Santa Cruz, who assassinated during the military coup General Garcia Meza spearheaded on July 17, 1980.

In 2010, Bolivia keeps sights on an ambitious, fair, and just global climate plan

Kelly, 350.org

On January 31st, the deadline passed for countries to submit their pledged targets to be included in the Copenhagen Accord, the 3-page document that emerged from the Copenhagen climate talks in December and set up an architecture for countries to commit to their own chosen targets, and have them reviewed by an international body. The deadline has come and go, and 97 countries have chosen to associate themselves with the Accord; yet Bolivia, now one of the leaders of progressive governments on climate change, is quick to point out that while the countries involved may represent a large percentage of global emissions (80%), their actual commitments are simply not up to the task of getting us to 350ppm.

Bolivia and it's ALBA allies, along with Tuvalu, Sudan, and a few other vulnerable nations, were the few countries who stood firm till the very end in Copenhagen when the unambitious Copenhagen Accord was being thrust upon delegates in the final hours. Without their courage and opposition to the weak document, the Accord would likely have been adopted, making it far easier for leaders like Barack Obama to call the summit a victory. Instead, world leaders had to admit that this agreement was not enough, and that we would have to keep working hard in 2010. And what's important is that the media reported this to the wider public - while this may not seem like much solace, it's key to continuing the momentum of our movement that the general public understand that we are not done yet.

Bolivia is leading in another major way as well - in April they will convene a major summit of progressive government leaders, social movement leaders, activists, and civil society to map out points of concensus and a plan for shifting the international debate on climate change towards an outcome that is fair and ambitious. While Bolivia and it's ALBA allies are often marginalized by the mainstream media, I have to say that I have been very impressed with their openness and their collaborative approach towards organizing this summit that reaches far beyond the anti-capitalist, radical wing of the movement that you might expect. They have been working hard to reach out to a wide range of social movements and civil society, get invitations to government leaders with positions clearly different than their own, and map out an agenda that leads to open and honest conversations about a positive way forward. In a post-Copenhagen world, their commitment and drive to building a broader and more powerful movement in 2010 is one of the most hopeful and inspiring things I see to get involved with right now.

For info on thePeople's World Conference on Climate Change, click here.


Republished from 350.org

Bolivian women spearhead Morales revolution

Andres Schipani

BBC News, La Paz - In the early 19th Century, Bolivian women fought alongside men for the country's independence from colonial Spain. They stormed into battle on horseback, seized cities and were on the frontline.

But their presence on the battlefield did not translate into presence in the political life of their nation. For many, their education, job opportunities and political rights were limited - until now.

"For a long time, we women have been excluded - it was one of the dark legacies of the colonial model," the recently appointed Justice Minister, Nilda Copa, told the BBC at her office.

"I remember my mother didn't know how to read and write, neither did my grandmother... not because they didn't want to learn," Ms Copa says.

Ms Copa joined a trade union very young, when she was only 16, because she felt a drastic change was needed and that was the only platform where women "had some voice".

And that change seems to have arrived. Today, posters proclaiming the slogans of female Bolivian heroes such as indigenous rebel Bartolina Sisa and independence icon Juana Azurduy plaster the walls of several ministries.

That shows the fervour felt in the Bolivia of President Evo Morales, who seems to be changing things not only for the country's indigenous majority, but also for its women.

Today women are involved in running the country as never before. Mr Morales began his second mandate last month with a cabinet reshuffle that complies with the gender parity stated in the new constitution he pushed for.

Now the new cabinet has 10 men and 10 women, three of them indigenous.

"There used to be a lot of racism and machismo. There is still some, but now that structure is changing thanks to brother Evo Morales," Ms Copa says.

"Today, for example, there are no illiterate women, but women with enough capacity to develop activities at the same level as men. But the fight has been harsh and long."

Her voice trails off and she focuses on a picture of her and Mr Morales from the times when she was a member of the assembly that wrote Bolivia's new constitution.

Homage

For Mr Morales, achieving gender parity in the cabinet was a long-held aim.

"One of my dreams has come true - half the cabinet seats are held by women," Mr Morales said recently. "This is a homage to my mother, my sister and my daughter."

Mr Morales said that since his early days as a leader of the coca trade union, he always worked towards getting women into decision-making posts based on the chacha warmi, a concept that in the local Aymara indigenous culture means that men and women are complementary in an egalitarian way.

But another sign that women's political influence is on the rise is the fact that they now occupy an unprecedented 30% of seats in Bolivia's new legislative branch.

One of them is Gabriela Montano, a senator who represents the eastern city of Santa Cruz - Bolivia's opposition heartland - on behalf of Mr Morales's party, the Movement Towards Socialism (MAS).

"This is the fruit of the women's fight: the tangible proofs of this new state, of this new Bolivia are the increasing participation of the indigenous peoples and the increasing participation of women in the decision-making process of this country," Ms Montano told the BBC.

Ms Montano was the subject of several physical attacks during her stint as the government's envoy to Santa Cruz, and last year she was kept at a secret location as a safety precaution after she was threatened by opposition groups.

"The awakening of women has been brewing for a while. Women have been a key element in the consolidation of this process of change led by President Morales, from the rallies, the protests, the fights. Now, they will be a key element in affairs of national interest," Ms Montano says.

However, while change for women is under way, for some there is still a long way to go until full equality is achieved.

"Not long ago, 10 years ago, nobody talked about women in power in this country, that was unimaginable," explains Katia Uriona, of the women's advocacy group Coordinadora de la Mujer.

"And even if I applaud all of these victories, I am aware this is not enough. Now we have to see if all of this is translated into something concrete that will truly change the gender face of this country."

Bolivia says: The Copenhagen Accord will cause the temperature to rise to between 3º and 4º Centigrade

David Choquehuanca, Foreign Minister for the Plurinational State of Bolivia, along with representatives from five campesino and indigenous organizations, declared at a press conference on February 8, that Bolivia is very concerned about the inadequacy of the greenhouse gas reduction commitments made by developed countries in the Copenhagen Accord.Choquehuanca stated: “The commitments, of the developed states, related to greenhouse gas emission reductions will result in more than three degrees increase in temperature above pre-industrial levels. Some experts even say that the temperature could rise as high as four degrees above pre-industrial levels. The situation is serious. An increase of temperature of more than one degree above pre-industrial levels would result in the disappearance of our glaciers in the Andes, and the flooding of various islands and coastal zones.

For the Bolivian Minister, the demand made at the Copenhagen Conference was that the greenhouse gas emissions must be reduced by 40% or more below 1990 levels by 2020. However the emission reduction targets in the Copenhagen Accord of the countries that have been historically responsible for global warming only amount to 12% to 18 % by 2020.

“The way these commitments have been made in the badly named Copenhagen Accord shows that this is a backwards step from the Kyoto Protocol” exclaimed Choquehuanca. “In the Kyoto Protocol. everyone had to first define a common goal for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, and then it was up to the developed states in Annex 1 of the Kyoto Protocol to make reduction commitments to arrive at this objective. Now the methodology that is imposed by the Copenhagen Accord is that each developed country notes what it is going to do without considering the common target.”

“What is happening, in terms of greenhouse gas emission reduction commitments by the developed countries. reinforces the need for a World Peoples’ Conference on Climate Change and Mother Earth Rights, that will be held in Bolivia, concluded the Minister. “This Conference will be a transparent and inclusive event, in which no one will be marginalized. The conference will be attended by citizens, social movements, scientists. We have also been inviting all the governments and the organizations within the United Nations to participate as delegates and experts to discuss along with the peoples how to address the crisis that affects us all.

Republished from Peoples’ World Conference on Climate Change and Mother Earth’s Rights website

Bolivia expects 5,000 foreigners at climate forum

Associated Press, La Paz, Bolivia -- Bolivia's government says it expects thousands of activists, environmentalists and scientists to travel to the Andean nation for conference on climate change.

Bolivia's foreign minister, David Choquehuanca, estimates roughly 5,000 foreigners will attend the event. The 3-day forum kicks off on April 20 in the city of Cochabamba.

Bolivian President Evo Morales announced in January that he would invite activists, scientists and government officials from around the world to an alternative conference following the failure of a climate change summit in Copenhagen to produce binding agreements.

Choquehuanca said Monday that topics will include a "universal proposal for the rights of mother earth."

Evo Morales' Peoples Climate Summit: Restoring the Balance

Brenda Norrell

COCHABAMBA, Bolivia -- Bolivian President Evo Morales, announcing the objectives of the upcoming Peoples Climate Summit, made it clear that the so-called developed countries of the world have usurped the bounties of Mother Earth at the expense of the poorest people in the world.

Cautioning mankind of the suffering and displacement which leads to forced migration, Morales called for The Peoples World Conference on Climate Change and Mother Earth's Rights, in Cochabamba, Bolivia, April 19-22, 2010.

Stressing the need to reestablish harmony with nature and establish the rights of Mother Earth, Morales welcomed those willing to work for the good of all mankind, and those governments willing to work for the best interests of their people.

Morales said climate change represents a real threat to the existence of humanity, of living being and Mother Earth. The danger is serious for the islands, coastal areas, glaciers in the Himalayas, the Andes, mountains of the world, poles of the Earth, warm regions like Africa, water sources, populations affected by increasing natural disasters, plants, animals and ecosystems, he said.

"Those most affected by climate change will be the poorest in the world who will see their homes and their sources of survival destroyed, and who will be forced to migrate and seek refuge."

He pointed out that 75 percent of historical emissions of greenhouse gases originated in "the countries of the North that followed a path of irrational industrialization."

"Climate change is a product of the capitalist system," Morales said. While citing regret at the failure of the Copenhagen Climate Conference, he said the so-called developed countries failed to recognize their climate debt to developing countries, future generations and Mother Earth.

The purpose of the conference in Cochabamba is to discuss and agree on the Universal Declaration of Mother Earth Rights. It seeks an agreement on proposals for new commitments to the Kyoto Protocol and a COP Decision under the United Nations Framework for Climate Change.

Morales welcomed a broad range of people to the summit. "The Government of the Plurinational State of Bolivia calls on the peoples of the world, social movements and Mother Earth's defenders, and invites scientists, academics, lawyers and governments that want to work with their citizens."

Earthcycles, www.earthcycles.net, and Censored News, www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com, will be streaming live from the summit, with on-air Indigenous cohosts.

Meanwhile, the Parliamentarians of the European United Left, and the Nordic United Left proposed a Resolution, in relation to the outcome of the Copenhagen summit on Climate Change, that "welcomes the initiative" taken by President Evo Morales "to convoke the Peoples' World Conference on Climate change and Mother Earth's Rights from the 19th to the 22nd of April 2010 in the city of Cochabamba; urges the Commission, the Member states, the European Parliament and the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly to send representatives to this important event."

Registration is free and available in Spanish and English: info@cmpcc.org

Updates will be available at Censored News http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com

The objectives are:

1) To analyze the structural and systemic causes that drive climate change and to propose radical measures to ensure the well-being of all humanity in harmony with nature
2) To discuss and agree on the project of a Universal Declaration of Mother Earth Rights
3) To agree on proposals for new commitments to the Kyoto Protocol and projects for a COP Decision under the United Nations Framework for Climate Change that will guide future actions in those countries that are engaged with life during climate change negotiations and in all United Nations scenarios, related to:
- Climate debt
- Climate change migrants-refugees
- Emission reductions
- Adaptation
- Technology transfer
- Finance
- Forest and Climate Change
- Shared Vision
- Indigenous Peoples, and
- Others
4) To work on the organization of the Peoples' World Referendum on Climate Change
5) To analyze and develop an action plan to advance the establishment of a Climate Justice Tribunal
6) To define strategies for action and mobilization to defend life from Climate Change and to defend Mother Earth's Rights.
The statement was made by Evo Morales Ayma, President of the Plurinational State of Bolivia, on Jan. 5. info@cmpcc.org
Working Groups
1. Structural causes
2. Harmony with Nature
3. Mother Earth Rights
4. Referendum
5. Climate Justice Tribunal
6. Climate Migrants
7. Indigenous Peoples
8. Climate Debt
9. Shared Vision
10. Kyoto Protocol
11. Adaptation
12. Financing
13. Technology Transfer
14. Forest
15. Dangers of Carbon Market
16. Action Strategies
Objectives
The Peoples’ World Conference on Climate Change and Mother Earth’s Rights has as objectives:
1) To analyze the structural and systemic causes that drive climate change and to propose radical measures to ensure the well-being of all humanity in harmony with nature
2) To discuss and agree on the project of a Universal Declaration of Mother Earth Rights
3) To agree on proposals for new commitments to the Kyoto Protocol and projects for a COP Decision under the United Nations Framework for Climate Change that will guide future actions in those countries that are engaged with life during climate change negotiations and in all United Nations scenarios, related to:
- Climate debt
- Climate change migrants-refugees
- Emission reductions
- Adaptation
- Technology transfer
- Finance
- Forest and Climate Change
- Shared Vision
- Indigenous Peoples, and
- Others
4) To work on the organization of the Peoples’ World Referendum on Climate Change
5) To analyze and develop an action plan to advance the establishment of a Climate Justice Tribunal
6) To define strategies for action and mobilization to defend life from Climate Change and to defend Mother Earth’s Rights.

Bolivia will not recognise new Honduran government

LA PAZ, Jan 31 (NNN-Prensa Latina) — Bolivian Foreign Minister David Choquehuanca stated on Saturday that Evo Morales’s government would not recognize the new Honduran Executive of President elect Porfirio Lobo, because the Bolivian government rejects dictatorships.

Bolivian newspaper La Razon published statements by Choquehuanca, and said several countries have said they would not accept those elections.

Bolivian top authorities said the constitutional President of Honduras is Manuel Zelaya, victim of a military coup on June 28, 2009, led by Roberto Micheletti.